It was a school day, and the 15-year-old was home alone, playing Xbox in the basement of his family's apartment in the 600 block of Western Avenue in St. Paul.

Hearing someone talking outside, the boy looked out a peephole of the lower unit and saw two hooded men in his back yard. It sounded to him as if they were talking about breaking into his apartment.

The boy went back to playing -- until he heard a crashing sound coming from upstairs.

Snatching a phone, he ran into the basement laundry room. Hiding, he called 911 as he heard footsteps above.

The youth's quick thinking led to police encountering two bandits in his family's apartment building and, after a foot chase, catching them and recovering the family's goods, according to a criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court.

It charges Derick D. Glover and Marvell V. Jefferson, both 18, and of St. Paul, each with two counts of first-degree burglary on Jan. 30. Glover's relative lived in a unit that was upstairs from the boy's unit.

According to the complaint, after the boy heard the crash and called 911 about 12:45 p.m., officers quickly arrived and saw that someone had kicked in the front door to the building's lower unit. One officer went to the rear of the building and spotted two men at the top of the landing.

One suspect, later identified as Glover, was holding a duffel bag containing video games, along with something wrapped in a blue blanket. Jefferson held a computer, small backpack and other items. They dropped the items and bolted back inside.

One officer ran after Jefferson, who climbed out a main-floor apartment window as a second officer shouted at him to stop. Jefferson fled.

Glover ran through an upper-floor apartment and down some stairs. His sister was in the upper unit and said that only she and Glover were present.

Officers set up a perimeter and brought in police dogs. Glover was captured nearby, in a back yard in the 300 block of Thomas Avenue, screaming: "Don't let the dog bite me!"

Jefferson was eventually captured by a police dog in the 300 block of Como Avenue. He had a stocking cap and face mask with him.

Officers then told the boy it was OK for him to come out of his basement hiding spot.

He told police his Xbox and many games were missing. His mom's laptop and jewelry also were missing. Officers found the Xbox and games on the back porch of the small apartment building where the boy lived. They also found a shotgun wrapped in the blue blanket on the porch. They recovered jewelry and other items nearby.

Glover is currently awaiting trial for auto theft in Ramsey County.

The first-degree burglary charges, which involve breaking into an occupied dwelling, are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a possible $35,000 fine, or both.

Joy Powell • 651-925-5038